Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (more)
Directed by:
Brad SilberlingScreenplay:
Robert GordonCinematography:
Emmanuel LubezkiComposer:
Thomas NewmanCast:
Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Kara Hoffman, Shelby Hoffman, Jude Law, Timothy Spall, Catherine O'Hara, Billy Connolly, Meryl Streep, Luis Guzmán (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Visually inventive and stylised adaptation of the dark and sinister children's books. After their parents are killed in a fire, the Baudelaire siblings, Violet (Emily Browning), Klaus (Liam Aiken) and the infant Sunny, are taken in by a succession of relatives and guardians, including kindly snake expert Uncle Monty (Billy Connolly) and their nervous Aunt Josephine (Meryl Streep). Worst of the lot though is the evil Count Olaf (Jim Carrey), obsessed with getting his hands on the Baudelaire children's inheritance. Imagining himself a master of disguise, Count Olaf undertakes a series of dastardly crimes to separate the Baudelaire children from their kindly guardians, and hopefully from their lives. (Paramount Pictures AU)
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Reviews (10)
It started quite subtly, and at first, I thought that this kind of film was not for me... but after quite a big delay I took the test and it turned out very well. I fell in love with the entire world of Lemony Snicket, and I spent the second half of last year hunting down the entire "Unfortunate Events" book series. While reading the first four books, I watched the movie to review over and over again so as to make my experience comprehensive... :) I'm now on the tenth volume and they’re getting bigger, so the last four books will be the same as the first eight. I'm both impatient and excited for each new page and only regret that there won't be more films. Or that the authors didn't opt for an adaptation made for TV and then for DVD. I mean, Esmé would have to be something irresistible, with her love for everything that happens to by flying. :) Or the triplets and other spicy stuff that didn't fit in the film. This way, it seems like the orphans from the series are just suffering under more and more guardians, but readers know that this is just the beginning. Jim Carrey was a good Count Olaf, but not unattainable, or he would have had to force them to make a sequel. I don't fault the film at all because the concept of combining the first three short books and then combining them into one general narrative is a good one. This would also work very well with other Baudelaire adventures. "The Miserable Mill" could have been shortened like the stay at Uncle Monty's, the Prufrock Preparatory School could have gone to great lengths to bring the triplets onto the scene, and then the endless shots in the elevator shaft... It would be nice, even the binoculars would fit in there for better order. Essentially, it’s too bad that Auntie Jo wasn't cast with someone younger and that there wasn't even a brief visit to the movie theater after a whole day at the terrarium. It can't be helped. I've fallen for the series.
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Jim Carrey's acting tour de force was perhaps a little too annoying at times, but the child actors were good, Sunny had funny "comments" at times. Meryl Streep, who had a phobia of just about everything, again delighted in her small role. The film offers a solid plot, decent visual effects (the house on the cliff, the leeches) and make-up effects (Carrey).
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If they had worked on the script as much as the magical, detailed set design, it would have been awesome. The expressive, distinctive sets are great, the fusion of old Victorian elements with the achievements of modern civilization is unique, and all I can say about Carrey's performance is that I haven't had so much fun watching an actor overact with gusto in a long time. But the whole thing is emotionally empty, you neither laugh, nor get moved, nor get scared, and the story is based on a simple plot and a stereotypical change of four locations. But I'm quite curious about a possible sequel.
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Like the more recent film adaptation The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events suffers from a fairly similar problem, which is a fairly strong connection to the book. Whatever Lemony Snicket wrote and how he wanted, it is certain that this "revival of letters" will be enjoyed more by readers who are likely more familiar with the characters and, above all, the plot. The story, which seems to have been quite insensitively trimmed, unfolds at a fast pace, and yet while perceiving it, I occasionally had to bridge quite a few "gaps" with my own imagination. However, the overall audiovisual form should not be dismissed, as the artists truly indulged themselves, especially with the Victorian buildings, in a somewhat decadently unfolding directorial approach (likely inspired by the book since the main characters are named the Baudelaires). Behind them, the visual effects team prepared a very lavish set design that seems to be straight out of The Addams Family. With Barry Sonnenfeld as the executive producer, it all makes sense. And the actors themselves are certainly not to be condemned, especially the trio of young Baudelaires, of whom little Sunny is absolutely perfect. Of course, Jim Carrey, with his mastery of facial expressions and physicality, once again managed to win the audience over to his side. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events is a pleasant watch, but the lack of a logically unfolding storyline is detrimental.
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If the story were overall a bit more polished and didn't have an ending that unnecessarily tries for emotions that simply aren't there, it would be an incredibly good film. It has its poetry, its charm, and it's incredibly entertaining, thanks in part to Carrey, who showcases himself as a great chameleon, but that's also well-known about him. It’s pleasant, but it's missing a little something extra to make it perfect.
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Gallery (133)
Photo © Paramount Pictures / DreamWorks Distribution LLC
![Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events - Photos - Liam Aiken, Timothy Spall, Emily Browning, Billy Connolly](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/000/343/343144_67425b.jpg)
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